Our Mission

The Root Center is dedicated to the
easement of the basic stressors of human life (providing food,
water, shelter, energy and community) through the intelligent
application of simple technologies, thereby building a cornerstone
for a worldwide network of abundance to give every human being the
time and dignity to lead fulfilling lives and elevate the quality of
life for all.

We will integrate nature and
technology, traditional and modern. In this process we will enable
profound community development through a strong foundation of the
basic infrastructure of community living. Community centers will be
established to provide the tools and resources to explore humanity's
creative potential.

History

The Root Center was formed as a non-profit corporation in August,
2009. In 2010 we grew 3,000 pounds of produce for the
Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf, on 1/10 of an acre of gardens, in yard
space donated by local citizens. We also held (and continue to host) fundraising events
to bring the community together in our efforts to end hunger in Vermont and beyond.
This year we've partnered with the National Gardening Association and will
grow over 25,000 pounds of produce for local food banks on 1/2 acre (at the
NGA's Vermont Garden Park in South Burlington, VT). We will construct (when funding allows) a 45-foot dome greenhouse to host an aquaponics
system that will generate many tons of fresh produce year-round for the
hungry, with the only energy needed supplied by a vertical axis wind
turbine art sculpture.

This project began as an ongoing series of conversations between friends who were concerned with the direction our world seemed to be heading in. Over time the scope of that conversation grew to involve many others and the focus turned toward solutions, rather than worry. Since that point our growth as an organization has been dramatic and we are implementing our growing, shared vision more and more each day.

The team consists of the board of directors of our non-profit
corporation, The Root Center. Our board members bring together years of
experience related to the non-profit sector, community organizing,
fundraising, engineering, marketing, media systems, information
technology, agriculture, event planning, renewable energy systems,
sustainable design, landscape design, education and cooperative
management. Our strength as a team is due to the fact that we all come from
very different backgrounds and reinforce each others' unique and diverse
skill sets. Our unpaid staff (consisting of board members) has been assisted along the way by a growing network of volunteers from the community.

Over the past four years of researching the project we
have been impressed with how dynamically and organically the vision has
presented itself within our collective sphere of consciousness. We
believe this is due to our diverse interests interacting with the
vision as puzzle pieces forming a larger picture.

As new supporters join
the organization we plan to continue this process to maximize the
efficiency of each members’ contribution as equals in an unfolding,
shared, experiment that is larger than the sum of its parts. With each
individual able to maximize their own potential by exercising their
talents in self-designed projects, we believe we will be far more
successful, per capita, than traditional work environments, and hope you will join us in creating a shared future we can all be proud of. As of April 2011, The Root Center is now a 501(c)(3) Public Charity! All donations made to our organization are now tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law.